A/N: I am sooo happy! First, because of your reviews! Thank you for your nice comment about my flashback, don't worry, there will be more!
Second, my head is actually done with the storyline! So now I just have to write it down, that's going to take some time!
Again, sorry about the late update. I am doing my best.
This has been rewritten.
Friends Forever, Chiao Lo
She was back in the dark water. She couldn't see, she couldn't talk, she couldn't move. She was helpless. The water was cold. She was freezing. She wanted to get away. But she couldn't. Now the voices came. "Tigress! Tigress! Tigress!" It was Hsueh that was calling her name. It was Heuen. It was Huei Woo. It was Win…
Tigress stared blankly at the ceiling. Her chest was moving up and down quickly. Those nightmares were making her crazy. She could still hear their voices. They were echoing in her ears.
Win! He needed her! No, she needed him! With shaking legs (she was still affected by the nightmare), she walked to the door. Without making any sounds, she opened and remembered to closed it. She learned by her mistakes. No one was going to follow her this time. With noiseless steps, she walked outside. She stopped, looking around to see if there was anyone who had woken up.
After some time, it was clear that she was alone. She leapt into the forest, in the direction that led towards the cave. The dark forest was silent; Tigress could only hear her own breath. She was more carefully with running through bushes than the last time; she would have an explaining-problem if she came home with scratches.
The yellow moon was shining through the trees, lighting up her way. The storm had passed and it was only drizzle that was falling. The whole place seemed different in the night. It was as the forest belonged to an old fairytale. It was mystic, lifeless and endless.
Tigress wasn't scared of getting lost. She was pretty sure of where she was. After all, it wasn't the first time she had gone this way. She just wished that she soon was there.
Suddenly, she realized something. She could probably reach the cave before the morning-gong, but she did not have time enough to get back. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes! She had remembered to close the door, but hadn't remembered that she had to get back. What would her friends think when they found her bed empty?
Tigress figured out that she was about halfways. If she turned around now, maybe she could be there in time… No! She had to talk with Win! She was coming this far, and she didn't wanted to give up now. She made her running faster and continued into the dark forest.
Wait! There was someone! Her eyes narrowed. They had caught a movement. But the trees and the bushes made it hard to see. Her body was ready to fight, but a voice inside her head told her that she shouldn't. She remembered last time she had been in the same situation; it had just been Win.
It was probably just him again. Who else could it be?
"Win?" Tigress called quietly. And sure enough, the black wolf stepped out of the shadows. He grinned a little when he saw Tigress' position.
"Do you really attack everyone you meet?" He expected that she would smile of his joke, but Tigress ran forward and hit him hard on the shoulder.
"Ow! Apparently; yes," Win said while rubbing where she had hit him.
Tigress was looking furious, with her eyes glowing and her tail fluttering behind her. "You are a big idiot, Win!"
"What? Why? I didn't jump at you this time!" Tigress leapt out to hit again, but Win had already moved a couple of meters away.
"Because you didn't take care! Did you know that the others were out searching that day I was sick, and that they found a wolf's footprint?"
Tigress expected that he would get pale or at least look like he cared about it. But he didn't! He just stood there, smiling his little, calm smile and said, "Don't worry so much, Tigress. I'll be fine."
Tigress was stunned. Why in the world didn't he worry? He knew what would happen if he got caught! His way to act made Tigress even angrier.
"Can't you just take this serious? Chiao Lo is coming today!"
"Tigress, I know what I am doing. Relax!"
Tigress swung her paw to try and hit him again, but he caught it. Win held it there until he could feel that her muscles relaxed. He let her breathing calm down, before he teasingly said, "I see you still have anger problems!"
Win then found out who it was that had brought 'furious' to "The Furious Five".
"Say one more word about my anger, Win, and you are going to miss your tail!"
The black wolf started to slowly back away from her. He opened his mouth to spoke, but Tigress cut him off.
"One word!"
Win muttered something that sounded like: "Why does everybody want to rip my tail off?" Tigress sent him a glance that made him stop talking. She took a deep breath to calm herself and sat down on the ground.
It was stopped raining and the air was fresh. After some time, Win sat down beside her. Tigress wasn't angry at him; she was just so frustrated because he couldn't see what she did. He couldn't see that he could be in some big trouble.
Suddenly she started to chuckle. "And you said you wasn't afraid of me! You should have seen your face!"
"Yes, I'm a little coward," Win said sarcastically, but laughed with her. Then, Tigress' stomach began to make noises.
He looked at her with disbelieve. "You are hungry?"
Tigress wanted to refuse, but her stomach destroyed that plan. Win started to laugh hysterical.
"What's so funny?"
Win finally controlled himself and said, "I'm living in the forest, but I am doing fine. You are living in a palace and you are starving! It's that a new training method that Shifu had created? Like 'Don't eat and you will be the strongest and thinnest Kung Fu Master'?"
Tigress didn't think that it was funny. "I just not had the time to eat. Mainly because of you. And it is Master Shifu!"
Win just shrugged. "He is not mine master. Remember that. And take this." He threw a bread over to her.
Tigress looked at it and then looked at Win. "Where did you get that from?"
Win showed her his own leather bag, which was tied to his pants. He had also some berries in it.
Tigress shook her head. "No, I mean: where did you get that from?"
He finally got it and said, "Don't worry about that. Just eat it."
She looked at him with suspicion in her eyes, but did what he said. He waited patiently to she was done.
"Thank you. So what are you going to do now? I mean, you are going to something, right? Now when Chiao Lo is coming…"
"I was thinking about going home to my parents."
Tigress felt her heart ached. She knew that it was the right decision; it was the only way to keep him safe. But it just hurt so much…
"Tigress, would you like to come with me?"
"What?!"
Win sighed. "They are missing you, Tigress. And I know that you are missing them too."
Tigress felt herself losing her strength. She had tried to keep distant from those thoughts, but now everything hit her. She lowered her glance to the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. She quietly said, "I just miss them so much, Win."
"I know." He laid his arms around her. The way he was holding her showed him how much she trusted him. Win realized that this was something big. He knew that she didn't trust many.
He knew how this would end. He knew that she would come with him. "It's easy; she will follow you without even looking back." No, he wouldn't listen to that voice now. He was doing fine himself.
"You don't have to answer now. I will go home and talk to my parents about it. I know that they would love to have you back. Then I will return to you, and you can answer then."
"But…"
"No buts! Just think about it until I come back."
He felt her nod. They sat there for a while, then Tigress asked, "How are they? Hsueh and Heuen? And Mang?"
The question had been troubling her in long time. To think about them was hard enough, but to actually say their names was worse. It was like they became more real. When they just were memories, Tigress could handle it better.
Win knew that she only had said Mang's name to be polite. He knew that they weren't exactly the best friends. Everybody could see that. But Win appreciated the thought.
"Mom and Dad they are… They are fine. When you left… It was hard. It was hard for everybody. Especially Mom. They miss you, Tigress. They haven't been as lucky as me. They haven't seen you in twenty years. That's long time."
"Do you think that they can remember me?"
"They never forgot you, Tigress. You changed the whole village! You showed us that all people are different! You showed us that even though you were Shifu's student, you were not like him. You didn't see us as evil wolves. You saw us as friends and family! Nobody can forget something like that!"
They looked each other in the eyes. Tigress smiled to him.
"So, they all remember the little, nervous tiger that couldn't swim?"
"For the last time, yes!"
Tigress looked like she was buried in thoughts. There was a question that Win hasn't answered.
"What about Mang?"
Win's face turned serious. Tigress figured out that he had been avoiding the question.
"We are a bit worried about him. He is… You know that used to love Kung Fu. Now he is like… It is like that it is the only thing he can think about."
"I think I know that feeling," Tigress muttered to herself, but Win could still hear it.
"No, Mang is obsessed with it. And he is really good at it. He is the best in the whole village. Only Huei Woo can beat him."
"Win, I think you shouldn't worry that much about it. I mean, look at me! I am obsessed with Kung Fu and I am fine."
"It's different with Mang. He can't control himself. One time, you said to me that you never use your claws in a fight. Mang does. You should have seen his opponents after a fight. They will never even think of fighting him again. Mang can't handle losing. He will do anything to win. Anything."
He looked at the tiger that was lying in his arms. The feeling of she was his responsibility showed up again. He would make sure that she didn't get hurt.
"Tigress, you have to promise me something. Promise me that you no matter what, you will not fight Mang."
"Why do you think I want to fight your brother? I can see when an enemy is stronger than me. Mang could beat me when I was a cub, and I have a feeling that he still could bring me troubles in a battle now. So why should I fight him?"
Win grinned. "It is not like I am saying that you maybe have a little problem with your anger. I am totally sure that if anyone made fun of you, you would just ignore it."
"Say goodbye to your tail, Win!" Tigress wasn't angry this time, she was only joking.
Win played scared, and held his arms around her, so she couldn't move. Tigress was surprised about how strong he was; she actually didn't believe that she could break his grip around her.
"Alright, alright. I promise."
"Good." He let her go, and she quickly stood up.
"Why are you not in the cave? I mean, why are you here?"
"Well, I was going to find you and talk with you, but then I met you on the halfway. Why are you here?"
"I was going to find you, but I had to hurry because… Darn it! I forgot Master Shifu! Win, I have to go now. I must be home before the morning-gong!"
Win looked at the sky. It was nearly morning and soon the sun would be up.
"You can't make it in time. That's impossible!"
"Maybe I can, if I run fast enough." She had already started running away. "See you later, Win."
She leapt into the forest again, but heard Win yelling, "I will be back in three days! Meet me in the cave!"
Then, there was silence. Tigress prayed that she would be there before the others woke up. That would make it a lot easier for her.
She could do without Win in three days. Three days wasn't long time. She could handle it. But if the wolves only were three days travel from here… They couldn't be very far away then. It could be on the other side of the mountain.
Three days. She had three days to decide whether she should go with him or not.
She wouldn't think of it now. She first had to get to the palace. She cleared her head for thoughts and ran as fast as she could.
But that wasn't enough. When she finally could see the palace, the others were standing outside. Tigress didn't have to hear what they were talking about, she already knew it. They were talking about her.
When they saw her, they started to run down to her.
"Tigress, where had you been?"
"Are you okay?"
"We found your room empty…"
"Tigress."
Her master's voice cut through all her friends'. Tigress' head was searching for an excuse, while she bowed.
"Master, I…"
"I hope that you have a good excuse for your absence."
"I… I couldn't sleep, Master. So I went out for a morning run…"
"A morning run?" Master Shifu raised an eyebrow. "You really thought that it was a good idea? Tigress, I am disappointed. To go on a morning run without leaving a message. The same day that master Chiao Lo is coming."
Tigress kept bowing. "My apologies, Master. I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again."
Master Shifu sighed, and turned to the others.
"Go and prepare yourself. I want Master Chiao Lo to get impressed by your presence."
They all left to the training hall. Tigress was happy that they didn't ask her any more questions.
Po was clearly excited with the thought about his hero was coming.
"I just can't believe it, guys. It's going to be awesome! But we don't need to prepare. We are the best!"
He made a couple of his Kung Fu moves, which made his friends rolling their eyes.
Mantis jumped on his shoulder. "I guess that you are going to try impressing him with your soup."
Monkey grinned. "Try? That soup will impress everyone! Let's just hope that leopards eat soup!"
They walked together to the training hall, where they did their ordinary practices.
After about two hours, Shifu walked in with a nervous expression on his face.
"Everybody, go outside. Master Chiao Lo is on the stairs."
All his students did what he said, and gathered in line outside, waiting. Tigress looked like a statue, she didn't move a muscle. Po, however, couldn't stand still.
Finally, the leopard was in sight. Even Tigress became impressed. He was looking a lot like Tai Lung. A lot. But he was looking a bit older, his body was covered with scars and he wasn't a snow leopard. He was wearing black pants and over his shoulder was quiver filled with arrows.
The first thing he did was bowing for Shifu. "Master Shifu. Nice to see you again."
The red panda bowed back. "Master Chiao Lo. We are all glad that you could come that fast. We appreciate your help. May I present my students; Po, Viper, Mantis, Monkey, Crane and Tigress."
Chiao Lo sent them all a flattering smile. "Oh, you don't have to present. Everybody in China knows about them."
He walked passed them, looking them all in the eyes. Tigress noticed that his were golden and cold.
"First, I will teach you all a little about the wolves. It is important to know your enemy. Wolves were banished from the valley over twenty-five years ago, because of stealing, ravaging and murder. I fought against their leader, Huei Woo, and won. They all disappeared after that. But after some time, their damage started again. And we realized our mistake. We shouldn't just have banished them. We should have sent them in prison! But, we never found the wolves' village. Sometimes we're lucky enough to catch a wolf. Wolves are strong fighters, and that is why I am here."
He made a pause, while he walked in a circle around them.
"You are going to show me your skills, and I will try to improve them. Is there anyone who has question?"
"What about the rumors that you torture and kill wolves?"
It just burst out of Tigress' mouth. She knew that it was rude, but she had to get the answer. She wanted to know the truth about why the wolves were banished. She wanted to know the truth about Huei Woo and Chiao Lo. And the leopard could maybe help her with that. Even though, Tigress had a feeling that told her that Chiao Lo would not hesitate with lying if it was necessary.
"Tigress!" Shifu hissed warningly. He turned to Chiao Lo. "Please forgive my student's rudeness."
The leopard just smiled. "No need to apology. Actually, your student is very clever. Like I said: it is important to know your enemy. Not that I am your enemy, but it is just as important to know your teacher. About the rumors: they are just rumors. When I catch a wolf, I just send them to prison. I could never do those terrible things. Well, I have been looking forward to see you training, so let's go to the training hall."
They spent rest of the day training. Chiao Lo watched them patiently and came with good advices. He was very pleased with Tigress; the only thing she should remember was that she should never let her guard down.
That confused Tigress. She never let her guard down. But when she was going to ask him about it, he was already gone, talking with Po.
Now it was time for dinner and they were all in the kitchen. Everybody was tired after the training, so they were looking forward to get something to eat.
Po was talking about what he was going to make, when he suddenly asked Tigress, "Do you want me to make the soup again?"
"Huh?" Tigress couldn't remember that she had eaten his soup. She always chose tofu.
"Uhm, you ate it that day you was sick. I just wanted to know if you want it again."
Now Tigress could remember. Win had eaten that soup. But when Po had found it empty, he must have thought that she had eaten it. Of course he had thought that, nobody knew anything about her visit that night.
"Another day, Po," she said promised quietly, causing the panda's grin to fade.
"Oh, okay. What about you, Master Chiao Lo? Do you want soup?"
The leopard looked a bit confused, and Tigress then said, "We also have tofu."
He glanced at her. "I think I will go with tofu then."
Po could not help but look a bit disappointed.
Mantis whispered to Tigress, "Wow, Tigress. You only need to have spot and then Chiao Lo could be your twin."
Tigress didn't answer. Mantis' comment made her felt uncomfortable. She did not like the idea that she was similar with the leopard.
Suddenly their eyes met each other. Tigress didn't blink. Finally Chiao Lo removed his glance and began to talk with Shifu, that was sitting next to him.
Tigress felt very alone. Three days to she could see Win again. Three days to she had to make her decision.